Culture & Music Archives - The Children's Hour

This week on The Children’s Hour, learn about the history of the Southwest United States. Adapted from our educational podcast series: A Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids, join us for a dive into 23,000 years of American history.

We're joined this time on The Children's Hour by Paul and Cheryl Reisler from Kid Pan Alley, who have written more than 2,500 songs with more than 70,000 children over the last 30 years.

We’re celebrating dads with a musical special Father's Day podcast for kids. As we think about our fathers, we remember the important role they play in our families, and our lives with their nurturing, love, and care. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads from all of us on The Children’s Hour.

It's Globalquerquito, a kid's global music show recorded live Albuquerque Museum, with Taos Pueblo's Robert Mirabal, and Quebecois Mélisande.

The Kids Crew explores the world of dragons with author Mari Mancusi. From ancient myths to modern stories, kids learn about many types of dragons and how they appear across cultures. The episode also includes a Kids Crew book review and what makes dragon stories fun to read.

Celebrate Mom with The Children's Hour in a musical Mother's Day special. We feature some of our favorite songs by Kindie artists honoring mothers, and we hear poetry about the special bond between kids and our moms. Happy Mother's Day to all who celebrate from The Children's Hour.

Grammy winning storyteller and author Bill Harley joins The Children’s Hour for a joyful hour of music and storytelling. From hilarious songs about whining and walking around the moon to a true story from second grade about courage and friendship, Bill reminds us that the moments that happen to kids every day really matter. Listen in for laughter, sing-alongs, and inspiration from one of the natio...

Imagine a world where kindness is a habit. The Kids Crew talks about real moments when someone showed them care and understanding. Musician Lindsay Monroe joins us to explain how music can help children practice empathy and respect. We explore the science behind kindness and how even one thoughtful act can strengthen a community.

The Children’s Hour takes on bullying by helping kids understand what they can do when they see someone being treated unfairly. The Kids Crew talks with trainers from Right To Be, an organization that teaches people how to respond to harassment in safe and thoughtful ways. Through clear examples, simple exercises, and music about empathy and courage, kids learn the Five Ds of bystander interventio...

What makes a great story? Spend time with legendary storyteller Joe Hayes, who has been telling stories for more than fifty years, sharing tales passed down through families, cultures, and communities of the American Southwest. Joined by the Kids Crew at the Outpost Performance Space, Joe explains why stories matter, how listeners help shape every story, and why imagination is such an important pa...

Celebrate Valentine’s Day and honor love in all its many forms. From the history of the holiday and exchanging cards, to the science behind how love makes our hearts race and our brains feel happy, we explore how love helps us feel connected and makes the world a kinder place. This episode is our Valentine to all our listeners, created with love by The Children’s Hour!

This time on The Children’s Hour, we explore the skin we are in. We are joined by Dr. Holly McGee and Dr. Nina Jablonski, who have written a book to explain the cultural and social history of skin color called It’s Just Skin, Silly. Then we meet Dr. Adnan Mir, a pediatric dermatologist who helps us understand even more about our skin from a medical point of view. This episode comes with a learning...

Celebrate the year in kids’ radio and music with The Children’s Hour Best of 2025. Hear favorite moments from the Kids Crew’s interviews and shows, along with songs from Grammy-nominated children’s artists. It’s a joyful look back at a year filled with learning, laughter, and discovery.

Celebrate the season with Holidays 2025, a joyful Children’s Hour episode filled with winter songs, multicultural traditions, kid-friendly stories, and festive music. Enjoy classic carols, new holiday tracks, and cheerful moments perfect for families, classrooms, and holiday listening.

This time on The Children’s Hour, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving in a musical special dedicated to gratitude, family, and appreciation of each another. The science is clear that focusing on being grateful actually makes us happier. That’s why it’s so important to take a moment to count our blessings, including our time we have with one another. We’re finding the joy in every moment, in this Thanks...

Discover what makes a healthy breakfast with the Kids Crew and nutritionist Patty Keene, plus explore how kids worldwide start their mornings.

On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we learn all about composers — the people who write music. Have you ever wondered how songs are created? A composer is the person who puts the notes together, making melodies that can be played by singers, choirs, or even a whole orchestra. Some composers lived hundreds of years ago, and their music is still played today. Others are writing brand-new songs r...

It’s Halloween time on The Children’s Hour! In this episode, we celebrate pumpkins, jack-o’-lanterns, costumes, and trick-or-treating. Our Kids Crew shares their own traditions, from trunk-or-treat clothing drives to festive parades in northern New Mexico. We’ll find out why some houses put teal pumpkins outside their doors, and learn how this helps kids with food allergies have a safe and fun hol...

The Kids Crew discover the animals living right outside our doors. From prairie dogs, coyotes, and roadrunners in New Mexico to monkeys in Thailand, stray dogs in India, koalas in Australia, and wildlife in Brazil, we learn how animals adapt to city life. With expert guest Cooper Freeman and research from junior producer Thaniel Lentz, we explore the challenges and joys of living alongside wild cr...

On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we explore balloons. From party balloons to weather balloons, and from the first hot air balloons in 18th-century France to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the Kids Crew dives into the history, science, art, and wonder of ballooning. Find the full episode page, including a companion learning guide and activities at https://www.childrenshour.org...

What does it mean to be a stranger in a new land? On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we explore the experiences of refugees—people who must leave their homes to find safety somewhere else. Find the learning guide, photos, links and the episode page at https://childrenshour.org/welcome-stranger Our special guest is Rahim AlHaj, a two-time Grammy Award-winning musician and composer. He grew up...

On this episode of The Children’s Hour, junior producer and intern Thaniel Lentz takes us through the incredible history and science of animation. From early tools like the zoetrope and flipbooks to famous characters like Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse, we learn how still pictures came to life. Thaniel explains how Disney’s Snow White used cels to transform animation, and how computers made it pos...

Birthdays are something many kids look forward to every year. On this episode of The Children’s Hour, we celebrate everything about birthdays! From candles and cakes to songs, games, and traditions around the globe, our Kids Crew explores what makes a birthday special in different places and cultures. We also find out how birthday customs have changed over time, and where ideas like singing “Happy...

This time on The Children's Hour we learn about the concept of querencia: the feeling of "home" in a place, and within our communities. Using poetry, imagery, history, music and sharing, we explore the elements of home with our special guest from the Center for Social Sustainable Systems, Alicia Chavez. Find the full episode page at: https://www.childrenshour.org/querencia-is-home/ When you feel l...

This time on The Children’s Hour, we immerse ourselves in good vibes for summertime fun with some excellence in Kindie music and a classic Bill Harley story about the terror of the high dive, and the power of unrequited love. Be uplifted with us and spread the joy of summer.